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Awesome news for fans of Ninja Theory and its excellent new game, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifce: it’s coming to VR headsets next week.

A developer diary from the studio reveals the surprise news. This is going to be the entire game converted into VR. It’s set to be free for anyone that already owns the game on Steam and will be releasing with Oculus Rift and HTC Vive support on July 31st. No word of a PSVR released just yet.

Hellblade is a narrative-driven action game that’s been critically lauded for exploring themes of mental health. You play as Senua, a warrior that descends on a journey into darkness in an attempt to resurrect her lover. The game actually already has a history with VR, having released a 360 degree trailer in the build-up to launch a few years back.

Ninja Theory itself was recently acquired by Microsoft, a company that’s been famously conservative with VR and its Xbox hardware. Could the company’s work with the platform indicate a brighter future for Xbox VR?

Marvel Powers United VR finally releases this week exclusively on the Oculus Rift and features a massive roster of 18 different playable heroes. We’ve broken them all down with this in-depth guide on how to play each one! This guide includes background information on each hero, as well as details on their powers and how to play them.

Before you dive into this super-powered world and go toe-to-toe with The New Masters of Evil, understand that each of these heroes plays differently and caters to different and specific playstyles. Playing this game well is about knowing your hero just as much as it is about knowing how to be a part of a team.

Black Bolt

Bio: The silent and enigmatic king of the Inhumans wields an unimaginably destructive force in his voice – a single word can level an entire city. Having undergone intense and rigorous mental training, he controls his ability with a will of steel and directs this energy into his Tuning Tool, which allows him to make precise and powerful attacks.

Strategy: Thankfully you don’t have to actually verbally yell at your Rift to use Black Bolt’s powers, although that would been a pretty immersive trick and actually make you feel like the hero you’re playing. His A ability lets him leap forward to close distances or if you point upwards then you’ll start to hover above the ground. Black Bolt only has ranged abilities, making him best used by hovering above the action and blasting away bad guys from above.

Hover: Aim up and press A to hover. Point down and press A to come back to earth.

Photon Scatter: Press and hold both grip buttons to collect energy near your tuning tool on your head, point your face, and then release to shoot a large circular burst of energy.

Bio: T’Challa, king of the secluded African nation of Wakanda, was granted the powers of the Panther God, giving him incredible super-human strength, agility and endurance. As the Black Panther, T’Challa uses an advanced Vibranium-powered suit to protect his home and join his allies when they are in need of his assistance.

Strategy: When playing Black Panther you’ll want to stay incredibly mobile. If you stand around in one spot for too long you’re a sitting duck. Instead, you want to literally jump back and forth between enemies doling out big damage and controlling large groups with nifty bola bombs.

Pounce: Hold A, target an enemy, and release to lunge at them. Finish off with melee attacks to start a combo. Chain kills together this way for big bonuses.

Vibranium Claws: Hold the trigger and slash enemies. They also emit a short-range slash through the air.

Bola Bombs: Grab them from your wrist and toss them out. They’ll detonate like grenades.

Energy Daggers: These are at your hips. Reach down and grab for added energy attacks

I don’t envy Sanzaru Games. At first thought, the chance to adapt the weird and wonderful world of Marvel into an Oculus Rift game that turns anyone into their favorite superhero might seem like a golden opportunity for any developer. Smash like The Hulk, slash like Wolverine and swing like Spider-Man? What’s not to love? As is so often the case in VR, though, that’s all much easier said than done. Take the opening prologue of Marvel: Powers United VR, for example.

This bit of gameplay is one of the most giddy sequences you’ll see inside a headset this year; The Hulk leaps over your head before making a crater in the middle of a bus, Rocket Raccoon bursts through a wall guns blazing and Deadpool lectures Wolverine before they team-up and head into battle. Arguably the best moment in the intro, though, is when Spider-Man swings in from the skyline, somersaulting and leap-frogging his way across buildings. It’s elegant, effortless and a tantalizing tease that leaves you begging to slip on some web-shooters.

Here’s what actually playing as Spider-Man feels like:

Powers United gets a lot right, more than I thought it would, in fact. It is at times a riotous, bombastic explosion of comic book action in which Ultron robots are hurled across the room before being encased in ice, webbed up and shot to pieces. But it’s also a game that knows the limitations of its platform, and sets its own standards accordingly. There’s no web-swinging as Spidey, for example, and Hulk can’t leap over skyscrapers. Rather than honing in on what makes each of these heroes unique, you’ll find many of them adhere to a template that doesn’t really capitalize on their skillsets. With VR still in its infancy, these are very hard problems to solve and certainly not something I’d expect Sanzaru to have all the answers to, but there’s an undeniable feeling of everything being toned down from the big screen action of, say, the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

If you can look past that shortcoming along with a few others, though, Powers United still offers just enough to satisfy both VR and comic fans alike.

Immediate mention has to go to the game’s production values which are, frankly, second to none. Suiting up as your favorite hero and then staring down to see their costumes on your virtual body is elating; no detail has been spared in bringing these characters into VR, from the belts that strap Black Panther’s gadgets to his arms to the grimy details of Hulk’s toenails. I haven’t been this amazed to see my virtual-self since the first time I entered VR. It is a bit of a shame the dialogue doesn’t match it; every hero spouts out cheesy one-liners every three or four seconds that will have you turning down the voice overs ASAP.

No matter which hero you choose, though, the game’s four-player co-op action feels decidedly closer to a League of Legends-style multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) more than it does any of

Having been delayed back at the start of this year, mental health-focused VR experience, Anamorphine, will be releasing very, very soon.

Developer Artifact 5 today confirmed that the game will launch on PSVR, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift with optional standard screen support on July 31st. It’s set to cost $19.99. Originally we thought the game was still going to be arriving in late Q1 of this year but it looks like the team needed a little extra time.

In the game, you step into the shoes of Tyler and explore his relationship with his wife, Elena, who was left unable to play cello after a tragic accident. Tyler struggles to come to terms with these events, leading players on a journey through his psyche. The experience doesn’t use any dialogue and the gameplay is completely focused on the narrative.

We’re hoping that Anamorphine delivers a truly fascinating exploration of a subject not often touched in gaming. VR support should give us a chance to climb further into the mind of Tyler and hopefully bring us a deeper understanding of the game’s subject matter.

Last week we wrote about Modbox developer Lee Vermeulen showcasing Valve’s new skeletal input API for SteamVR. Using the original HTC Vive controllers, Vermeulen demonstrated an impressive replication of the user’s thumb movements. After many requests, the developer is back to showcase the same API running with Valve’s new Knuckles controllers.

It proves one crucial point: Knuckles are perfect for petting cats.

Yes, Vermeulen employs his feline friend to showcase just how accurate the new API is paired with the upcoming controllers. Movement in each finger is replicated with impressive accuracy, right down to imitating when the developer frees his fingers to give his cat a good old scratches. Although it does look a little like the virtual hand is beckoning the kitty to come closer, which is a bit creepy.

All jokes aside, this another great demonstration of how the API’s algorithms can simulate real-world hand movement using predictive methods. It’s not dedicated finger-tracking, but it looks like it does a pretty good job of simulating it. As with the last video, Vermeulen used a ZED Mini with the HTC Vive to show a side-by-side of what finger movements look like in the real world compared with how they are shown in VR.

Right now we have no idea when the Knuckles controllers will be arriving, though we’ve still got our fingers (both real and virtual) crossed that it will be later this year. Modbox itself will be getting support for the API when it’s finished.

A new app from one of our favorite VR developers slipped out below our radar a few weeks back, so we thought we better tell you about it.

Trek: Travel Around The World is a brand new travel app from Minority Media, the studio that brought us entertaining VR time travel game, Time Machine VR, as well as great non-VR titles like Papo & Yo. It’s an experience designed to both introduce people to VR for the first time and also engage anyone that’s owned a headset for over two years now.

In the game, you travel to different parts of the world from the comfort of your virtual Helsinki-based apartment. You can check out Finland’s capital and admire the Northern Lights in the Archipelago. Rather than a simple collection of 360 degree images and videos, though, Trek offers full 3D environments with unique interactions to discover in each.

In Helsinki, for example, you embody a giant that looks down on the city from above, and provides power to it using a set of keys. Out by the water, meanwhile, you can fish but also trace constellations in the sky. There are three of these experiences right now but, crucially, Minority is hinting that it may add more in the future.

The app is available now for $8.99 with support for the HTC Vive. No word on official Rift integration just yet.

Elsewhere, Minority Media has a new website launching tomorrow, so perhaps we can expect to hear more from the developer soon.

Sony Europe is holding its PS4 summer sale a little later than most this year, but there’s still some great deals on PSVR games that you won’t want to miss.

Probably the best offer of the bunch is Wipeout: Omega Collection, which is down to £12.99. This excellent sci-fi racer got full PSVR support earlier this year and is easily one of the best reasons to own a headset at this point in time. There’s full standard display support too, should you need it.

Resident Evil 7’s Gold Edition is also down to £24.99. That’s still quite pricey, but don’t forget this edition of the game includes all of the content from the season pass as well as a brand new campaign added on at the end of 2017 (and yet another campaign that was released for free, too). Again, it has optional PSVR support and is absolutely one of the best games on the system right now.

Other than that, there’s a handful of decent offerings, though we’re expecting a wider sale to launch later in the day. Now that it’s been patched to resemble something half-decent you might want to give Bravo Team a try at £12.49, though remember it’s best played with the Aim Controller. Madcap tie-in, Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-Ality is also just £13.49 now and Star Trek: Bridge Crew hits its usual sales price of £15.99.

If you’re looking to make a real saving then entertaining shooting range, Lethal VR, is just £3.99, and Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV is down all the way to £7.99. Or how about ace indie puzzler, Statik, for £4.89, The Lost Bear for £3.99 and The Invisible Hours for £11.99?